TRIBUTE ABDUL - Perdana Library

A plateful of troubles.
GERALD HAWKINS
The Emergency was draining away much blood and money.
Militarily, it was nearing its successful end. Psychologically, the
Tunku's meeting with Chin Peng at Baling smashed the pretence that
it was rebellion for the freedom of Malaya by demonstrating that
freedom had been won and further resistance was pointless.
The dark cloud of a plural society lowered all over Malaya.
The Tunku's attitude is that "Government is a contrivance of human
wisdom to provide for human wants'". Human wisdom must
hasten to contrive something that would provide employment,
happiness and a true home for all.
A plural society is one in which the component communities
are linked only by economic ties. In Malaya the population is
three-sevenths Malay, three-sevenths Chinese, and one-seventh
"Others".
The Malays include Indonesians who often hope to return to
Indonesia. They plant rice, catch fish, seldom engage in trade and
commerce but form the large majority of government servants. The
Chinese, of whom more than half are Malaya-born, work harder
and almost monopolise trade, commerce and the technical industries.
"Others" are mostly Indians and Pakistanis in agriculture, trade,
government service and the professions. The remaining "Others"
are Eurasian, European, (which includes American and Australian),
Ceylonese, Philipinos and Japanese etc. Most non-Malays tend to
look on their country of origin as their spiritual home, closely
follow the course of events there and are often educated in schools
that instruct almost exclusively in their national cultures. There arc
differences in race, religion, language, custom and culture. Intermarriage
is rare. There are many cases of warm individual friendships
between persons of the different countries but, after leaving school,
most men are swallowed up in their own communities.
During and after the War, waves of nationalism beat on the
Malayan shores. The situation could easily have been explosive.
The Malays, as ground land-lords, naturally claimed some special
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